Destruction, War and Sakura Petals
by Andia
Summary: Another SLC fanfic...Princess Casita of the Velian Royal Family deals not only with a war threatening to take away her family, but a killer loose on Vela and the drama which is life.
1. Death by Cheery Blossoms

A/n- Halos everyone...another SLC fanfic! Kinda of the story before my "Prisnor of War", though I think that this will be the piece where   
Andi-chan actually gets captured...this is mostly dealing with Casita, since I need to use her more, and I might just turn it into a   
romance, haven't decided yet.  
  
Title- Destruction, War and Sakura Petals.  
  
Rating- PG-13 for now, some gore and slash theming.  
  
Pairings (if any): Andia/Kuyo, Lena/Andia, Casita/???  
  
Disclaimer- I do not own the characters of the Starlight Chronciles. Andia, Casita, Lena, Lord Manseti, ect...are all property of Star  
Publishers, and the respectable author of the series.  
  
Other notes- Please review! I know, I know everyone asks this, but a few seconds of your time, whether it be nice or a flame, means a  
whole lot to me, more than I can say. So review! Oh, and enjoy.  
  
*******  
Chapter One- Death by Cheery Blossoms  
  
  
  
Silently they fell, wave after wave of sakura petals embracing the ground like fresh snow. Drowning those who stayed too long,   
slicing the skin of wanders as the flower petals whirled in their own little dance. And perched upon the tallest tree, protected   
from the deadly petals and watching yet another body fall, sat a single girl.   
  
Her eyes were a deep emotionless black, her hair streaming out in golden curls behind her along with the thick white robes she   
wore. Then her eyes turned to the skies, watching the lights of the Velian palace twinkle against the light of the stars. The   
moons were full tonight, beautifully round and with a hint of silver and gold along their edges. Below, the harsh lights of the   
city flickered in bright neon colors, skippers screeching down the roads, only a few bits of plant life lifting their branches and   
leaves to the heavens. Crying out for salvation   
from the pollution, from those raping poor Vela.  
  
This girl looked back, watching her last victim fall as she let the last petal join its brothers and sisters among the bloody ground.   
It was a little girl who was the last, her sky blue dress torn and stained crimson, her raven curls spread out and her green eyes   
gazed over with death.  
  
The blonde looked upon the blood mangled body, studying it as though it had come back to life, before she leapt from her tree to   
the ground, sandaled feet landing beside the prone body. She bent down, her delicate fingers brushing across the lace of the dress   
as she traced a small necklace around the girl's neck. A small heart pendant, gold with a matching chain.  
  
It only took one small jerk to tear the pendant from the body. Onyx eyes studied it intently, as though she could find the secrets   
of life buried within the simple designs. She flipped it open, met with a picture of the two parents of this girl- the first a tall   
human gentleman, and the second a red haired, green-eyed Velian woman. That explained the girl's dark looks with her dazzling green   
eyes.  
  
She took one last look at the little girl's lifeless body, laid out against the pale pink of the sakura petals, before leaping away   
into the night with a shimmer of gold in her hand.  
  
*******  
  
"People being killed by cheery blossoms? Creepy!" Casita squealed, a shiver running down her back that nearly caused her books to   
topple from her hands as she walked down the halls towards her locker with her dearest friends Kari and Sammy fallowing close behind.   
"But those aren't even native to this area, are they?"  
  
"Well, everyone wanted to make this area as much like Earth as it could when Vela took over the Zetain Empire. Sakura trees were   
a good way to do that. And after Zeta reclaimed its empire some three hundred years ago, no one bothered to remove those trees."   
Kari's voice explained simply, her very melodious considering Kari was Arianu. She stood on a six legged body of an insect with a   
golden-green shell, her almost human torso and face made of the same plating. Most of it was hidden by a dark brown tunic though,   
so it wasn't to bad looking at Kari. She had three human eyes, deep and gorgeous brown, while two little antennae sprouted from her   
bald head.   
  
Sammy decided it was his turn to pop in, the reddish haired human taking up an expression of deep thought and seriousness that didn't   
quite fit his goofy freckled face and boyish personality. "My question is how do you control those petals in the first place? I mean,   
they're flower petals after all! How can you make them kill people?"  
  
"Magic!" Kari shouted, and the three gave a small little session of laughs. For years the years they had been friends, the three had   
always been joking around about little nothings, reading up on various religions and mythologies of the universe and testing to see if   
they could raise the goddesses or gods from their sleeping places. It was a fun little fantasy world for them.  
  
But it was strongly hated by Casita's two eldest sisters.  
  
Casita's two sisters Andia and Casimalia, who were as different as day and night, had always been very edgy when it came to prophecies   
and legends, especially of their own Velian ones. Andia had practically raised Casita since the blond was five until they returned home   
three years ago, and not once before had she expressed any dislike for Casita's interest in fairytales and mythology. The raven haired   
elder girl actually knew quite a few good bedtime stories, some of those memories of the girl reading to Casita before bedtime having   
engraved themselves into Casita's heart. Those had been hard times, their life in space, but she would give anything to have it all   
back.  
  
Casimalia on the other hand, she never really knew what the girl was like before she and Andia had returned home. As soon as those   
two met, they automatically learned to keep their space from each other, and ever since Andia had become quieter and quieter. Now,   
at any mention of mythology or fairytales, Andia would give a small little flinch while Casimalia would tell her to get such nonsense   
out of her head. To tell her the truth, she had no idea what was going on in their heads.  
  
"…those gazielles have a very complex religion for human-born." Casita's head snapped back to Sammy and Kari, not even noticing she   
had already reached her locker, and was piling her books and datapad into her bag while her thoughts were wandering. Heaving the heavy   
strap onto her shoulder, the cloth pressing painfully against her silk tunic, she began down the hall with her two friends, trying to   
keep up with their conversation until she noticed a large amount of the student body was clearing a path by bowing down or kneeling to   
a figure that stood by the main entrance.  
  
"Andia!" Casita cried, dropping her bag onto the floor and running forward to wrap her arms around her elder sister, nuzzling the   
silky raven hair that hid her sister's pale neck. Andia was smiling, though it looked somewhat forced, as she wrapped her arms around   
Casita's waist to keep her up, considering Andia was about three inches taller than her younger sister. "Oh, I missed you, I missed   
you, I missed you…"  
  
"I missed you as well…" Andia's gentle voice, which had departed Casita's life three weeks ago when the dark haired girl had traveled   
off world, was a sweet reminder of the caring in Andia's true character. The person in question often was silently and out of place,   
her true emotions hid behind an icy mask. It was a trait Casita was proud to say she had not inherited, since it seemed Casimalia   
had it as well. "How have you been little one?"  
  
The nickname, one Andia had called Casita even though she was no longer so little that Andia could carry her in her arms like a babe.   
Another thing that made life to wondrous. So sweet. So perfect. "The same as usual, though I missed you." Andia gave a small   
chuckle, her golden eyes meeting her younger sister's sky blue as she responded. "You have established that much already."  
  
Casita grinned; happy she had made her elder smile. There were very few who could do that, too few, and she was quite pleased to say   
that she was one of those few. She loved the way those golden surfaces lit up with some unknown and almost foreign glee, the way   
delicate lips formed themselves into a small, unfamiliar smile. If only there was one man, one man in the whole galaxy that could   
make Andia smile like that constantly…Well, there was one, Prince Kuyo of Zeta. But due to the wars between Vela and Zeta, Andia and   
Kuyo could never be as one in happiness.  
  
"Come little one, we need to get home." Andia's voice stirred her from her thoughts as Casita let go of her sister and was settled   
gently onto the ground. The young blonde rushed to pick up her bag, saying goodbye to Sammy and Kari while noticing they were the   
only ones of the student body standing, though their heads were bowed in respect to Andia. The whole hall seemed all too quiet, though   
they were afraid while Andia was here. Like something was not right.  
  
And it came to Casita finally that something was indeed wrong. Andia had just returned from Zeta, trying to patch up things with the   
empire there before war broke out. But she must had returned just half an hour ago, so why rush straight here to pick up Casita when   
Andia would see her just an hour later? Surely Andia had to be exhausted from the flight, and from the parade of politics the raven   
haired girl admitted on more than one occasion that she disliked. So why had she come?  
  
All these questions played in her mind as she fallowed Andia out to the skipper waiting for them, barely hearing her sister thank the   
driver for waiting for them as he held the door open. She stepped inside, sliding onto one of the plush cushioned seats next to Andia,   
and turned to her sister for answers.  
  
"Why bother to pick up dear sister? I mean, I am glad to see you and all, but why the trouble…has something happened?"  
  
Andia gave a tiny sigh, impressed with her younger sister's quick mind though she did not want to give Casita the news herself. She   
had hoped mother would have done the honors, or the child would at least find out by herself, but fate never seemed to like Andia very   
much, and was quite a sadist when it came to playing with her. But she would tell Casita, because after all their years together,   
Andia would never dare to lie to her.  
  
"We are going to war with planet Zeta."  
  
The young Velian child blinked once, then twice to make sure that this all was not a dream, before tapping her ear with a whispered   
"Can you repeat that please?" Andia's golden eyes turned, surfaces dazzled with flames meeting a pair of icy blue ones with the   
same dancing fire hidden deep within. Her expression was emotionless, but Casita had learned to read it after time. Sorrow and   
regret were within those golden eyes, confirming that she had not heard wrong.  
  
But Andia repeated herself anyway. "We are going to war with the Zetain Empire. The announcement will be made within the next   
half an hour, and troops shall launch their first attack on Angelsgate within the hour."   
  
Casita swallowed, turning her eyes and suddenly finding great interest in the floor beneath her feet. Beginning to memorize the   
pattern of dark spaces and blood red designs. The red of a human soldier's spilled blood. She swallowed back the bile rising in   
her throat as images of war and bloodshed hit her conscious mind in violent waves, washing over her and drowning her in sorrow.   
They were going to war.  
  
The rest of the trip continued in silence as the two sisters sat there, each trapped and tortured restlessly by their own thoughts   
as the skipper came to a halt. They exited and walked up the steps to their home in a daze.  
  
The Princesses of Vela had returned home to declare War.  
  
*******  
  
Casita sat upon her mother's lap watching the announcement of war be made by Vela's present Lord, Lord Manseti of Orlando, curling   
as close to Queen Kashia as she could without cutting off her mother's air supply. Casimalia sat next to them on the white plush couch,   
while Andia leaned against a wall somewhere behind them, the two rivals' eyes trained on the display screen like warriors watching a   
battle briefing. The only similarity they seemed to share.  
  
The people of Vela seemed to have expected this, but that did not wipe the looks of despair off their faces as each able body, male or   
female, was ordered to defend the empire at all costs. But, as Lord Manseti raised a speech about supporting the pride of their planet   
and culture, the people tossed aside their despair to the false ideals of honor and cheered. Lady Manseti, a tall blond woman whom   
Casita thought looked like a cow that could stand, waved down to the people, while her beautiful daughter Lena looked down at her kind   
with pity burning in her eyes.  
  
Casita turned her head, looking back as Andia's golden eyes focused on Lena. Those eyes suddenly loosened, revealing a pained soul   
beneath them as her sister gazed envious at Lena…it was definitely not the position of Princess she wanted, but the girl who held it.   
  
Same-sex relationships were no big deal in the galaxy, not like they use to be anyway. But for two people like Lena and Andia,   
expected to care on their blood lines and bare children, they were forbidden. Fate indeed played a hard game for the raven haired   
youth, for all those she ever loved were off limits dramatically or for the smallest of reasons.  
  
Casita turned her eyes back to the screen, watching the Manseti family depart before the display screen went dark. There would be   
meetings tonight, some that would last until morning. It was very unlikely that she was going to see any of her family today,   
especially Andia and her elder brother Ouy Rien whom specialized in military matters. Plus, she would be confined to the palace for   
safety reasons.  
  
She slid from her mother's grip, watching as Andia and Casimalia led themselves out in silence- which was better than the two   
arguing- to make it to the meetings. Kashia smiled with her younger daughter, a small knowing smile that was as valuable as   
Andia's rare grins, patting her youngest daughter's head as though Casita was four and not fourteen. But then she two departed,   
her role as Vela's true Queen never finished.  
  
Leaving Casita alone.  
  
The youngest Velian princess left herself through one of the side rooms, avoiding the guards to make sure she didn't get stuck   
with a body guard. She made it to the room she and Andia split, taking a seat on her canopied bed and scooting over to the set of   
windows on the other side. She threw them open, white curtains attacking her with the force of the wind but she batted them from   
her face to look out at the gardens below.  
  
Roses and Lilies grew in ever possible corner, the two flowers of the Velian Goddesses of Destruction and Creation. Trees called   
Dogwoods, once native to earth, spread their leaves and branches to the sky, the wind stealing away their bright pink flower petals   
with a gentle hiss. Casita reached out her hand, grabbing wildly until she captured three petals from an unseen tree, and opened   
her hand, expecting to see the bright pink of the Dogwoods.  
  
Instead she was confronted with an image of the palest of pinks, nearly white, and petals far too small to be those of the Dogwoods.   
She looked closer, inspecting the petals as though they were some rare animal, until at last she recognized them.  
  
Sakura petals. Cheery Blossom petals. Those that did not grow well in Vela's soil. She looked up once more, only in time to watch   
a dark figure leap away. 


	2. War, and the Goddesses of Vela

A/N- A second chapter...I think this one is short, sorry! Anyway...I made Andia sound like a real cold-hearted b*tch in this.   
My apologizes to Andi fans.  
  
  
Chapter Two- War, and the Goddesses of Vela  
  
  
"The causalities of Angelsgate," Andia's golden eyes perked up, moving from the document she was reading   
to the young Velian soldier in the front of the room giving them a brief on the attack of Angelsgate; the   
first attack of what was to be a long war against the planet of Zeta. "Comes to a total of 358 deaths,"   
The soldier continued, pausing the clear his throat; Andia knew the gesture, it meant he was nervous,   
so she prepared herself, "138 of those were Soldiers of the Zetain armies, 40 were civilians."  
  
'Too few…' Came Andia's thoughts.  
  
"And we suffered the deaths of 180 soldiers when the chemical K-87 was released through the ventilation   
shafts." Andia barely heard the curses coming from the generals assembled, the war counsel that sat before   
her, as her thoughts spun. They had lost more soldiers in a surprise attack than the enemy. That was   
disgraceful.  
  
Did she care for the deaths of her people? Yes, of course Andia cared. She had spent the last three years   
of her life trying to pull together the ruins that were once the Velian Royal Empire and build back the glory   
in which they had once held. She had done that by caring for the people, for aiding against illness and for   
being their light at the end of a tunnel.   
  
But she also knew that the lives lost there were names to be disgraced, families who would deny having ever   
cared or loved for those soldiers. 'They should have had their air filters on!' Her thoughts raged louder   
then the sorrow in her heart. 'Darn fools…' She scolded herself for being heartless, and quickly drew herself   
away from her thoughts. 'Time to play the princess role.'  
  
"And we mourn those we have lost. May Kahima protect them." She stood, leaning her weight against the table.   
She let her eyes wander over the faces of the war counsel, many old. Ouy Rien, her elder brother, sat to   
Andia's side with his head bowed in silent prayer for his lost men. Ouy Rien was the captain of the Royal Military.  
  
"This attack should not be overlooked. Zeta was prepared for us then; they knew that they could kill us in an   
enclosed space. We must strike them where it hurts, but where it cannot hurt us." She glanced around, watching   
the reactions she was getting.  
  
"We must strike at the palace on Zeta and seize the emperor. We must have an open air battle, where there is no   
line between soldier and civilian."   
  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Cruel harsh winds picked up from the west, tearing through the defenseless tree and throwing birds from their   
flights. With the wind came storm clouds that had gathered over the oceans, and thunderous roars gave those inland   
no illusion to what was coming. Stalls that lined the street corners began to close as shoppers rushed back to   
their houses and hotels or went to find a bar in which to waste themselves for the night.  
  
And standing with the hood to her black cloak pulled up, not to protect her from the storm but to hide her face   
from the crowd, was Casita Nowa.  
  
Unlike the crowd, her feet carried her towards the shoreline where water skimmers were being tied up at the docks   
for the night. Towards the slaps of the vicious ocean waves against the stone cliffs and sand. Her plain brown boots,   
barrowed from Andia's collection of battle attire, made a gentle click with each step; given that she could not find a   
pair without two inch or high heels. She'd have to ask her elder sister about that later.  
  
Before her, embracing the furious weather like a lover opening up his/her arms, the goddess shrine stood. Decorated   
in the traditional blues, gold and black, the temple was a sight to behold with its ancient architecture and the rare   
lily-filled vases that rested before the doorway. Knowing that they would blow away with the storm, Casita gently   
gathered the foreign flowers and set them to the side as she entered. One of the care takers would find them there.  
  
Within, the gigantic stone pillars shot towards the painted sky of blood red clouds lined with silver. Upon each side   
of the shrine lay six statues, three per side. Omiania of the Winds, Kaia of the earth and Rin of the harvest stood   
proudly to the right. Shari of health and Kahima of Death took up most of the left side; along with them the statue of   
the Goddess of Happiness in which Casita received her name.  
  
And ahead of her stood a marble statue larger than the rest, and so detailed that one might swear that it was real. The   
first goddess faced the south, one hand stretched out with a bird resting upon it as tears ran down the goddess' cheeks.   
The second was resting her weight upon a decorated sword, with such fury in her expression that even now it left Casita   
breathless in fear.  
  
Casimalia and Andia.  
  
"You risked much to come here, princess." Casita spun around, and years of training with her elder sisters made her spring   
into a defensive stance in an instant, though she knew perfectly well that fighting was not allowed within the shrines. But   
she relaxed as she spotted Lena-ou, one of the few temple hoshimi, lighting the candles by each of the statues to the left.  
  
"Yes, I know…" she loved watching Lena go about her work, each graceful movement of those dark skinned hands its own little   
dance. Her blonde hair matched Casita's own sunlight gold, but Casita's icy blue eyes were far to light for Lena's lilac-navy   
shade. "Please don't tell momma or Andia."  
  
Lena turned and smiled gently to Casita, which was her sign of saying that she would indeed keep quiet. Another thing Casita   
loved about Lena was her smile; a tiny motion of the lips and eyes that could generate enough loving warmth to burn away a   
person's fears. Lena's whole personality was like that, resembling that of a mother watching over her child from afar.  
  
All candles lit, Lena started back towards the doorway in which she had come. "I shall leave you to your prayers." Lena said,   
turning back to Casita, "but please hurry back princess. There are many enemies of your sisters' now, and I wish neither you   
nor them to fall to misfortune because of such." Lena sent Casita another smile. "I wish not to see Andia cry."  
  
Casita matched the smile and nodded, turning back to the statue of Andia and Casimalia as the door closed. She studied the   
faces of the two goddesses who supposedly took up residence in her elder sisters. Studied the sorrow and anger upon those   
faces, and realizing with a fright that the statues did look a lot like her sisters.  
  
Shuttering, Casita turned and ran from the temple. She knew she should have gone straight down the main avenue, but instead her   
legs carried her away from the temple and the palace. Away from the safety of the city and out toward the sea.  
  
Toward the Sakura tress.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Towers of rough bark and a gentle carpet of white petals made the grove more of a welcoming place than a site of murder. A week   
had passed since the deaths of the villagers, so the authorities had long ago packed their bags and closed the case as a freak   
accident. More souls to float around without vengeance.  
  
Casita's senses were on full alert, screaming out as each rain drop hit her skin or whenever a roar of thunder echoed in her ears.   
It was like the excitement before battle when you knew that you had a fifty percent chance of walking out alive. Excepts now Casita   
felt as though her chances had dropped to a thirty. But still, she walked on. "So you came, princess. I had almost given up hope."  
  
Casita spun, reaching for the hidden blaster beneath her cloak as her eyes set themselves upon a lone figure, a familiar figure,   
at the end of the path. The figure wore a dress as white as the petals that graced the ground, a feminine figure peeking through   
the thin material and the vibrant waves of golden curls. Curls which framed a face of graceful and cold beauty, and a face of   
twisting scars. Her eyes were pure shadow.  
  
"You…you were waiting for me?" Casita tried her hardest to hide her fright as it increased ten fold with the image of the ghastly   
wrinkles of battle. One half of this woman's face was that cold, heartless beauty of death. The other a twisted maze of scars that   
looked like they were spring to life and become tentacles at any moment. "Why? What use am I to you?"  
  
"You are disturbed by my appearance." The girl turned her head, eyes burning in shame as she tried to hide the deformity with her   
hands.  
  
Swallowing her fear, Casita moved forward and gently removed the girl's hands, running her fingers across the rough skin onto   
callused fingers and palms. "I'm sorry, it just startled me." She looked up into those hurt but surprised eyes as she let go of   
the girl's hand. "Are you here to kill me?"  
  
"I should lie to you." Came that gentle voice, as the show of emotions lost itself within the depths of the shadowed eyes. "But   
yes, I was sent by Zeta to fetch, ransom off and then kill one of the Velian princesses. My first target was Andia, but I realized   
that she and Casimalia would be much too hard to take alive."  
  
Casita stepped back, slowly moving one hand toward the blaster as she continued her steady pace backward. "Smart choice, Casimalia   
and Andia are tough…but don't think I can't hold my own." She bluffed, trying to distract the girl so that she did not notice Casita   
ever so slowly drawing the blaster. The wind began to pick up, swirling the blossoms around them until it was impossible to see.  
  
The rain had stopped, and the heavens grew quiet.  
  
When the winds died down, Casita was alone with only a fading voice to tell her that she had not been dreaming. "But I will not harm you,   
princess…" 


End file.
